


The Star of Ealdor

by SheWhoWrites178



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Movie Star Arthur, mental issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-16 01:24:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10561030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SheWhoWrites178/pseuds/SheWhoWrites178
Summary: Merlin and Arthur were college sweethearts. Unfortunately, Merlin broke up with him because he knew Arthur had potential as a movie star and didn’t want to drag him down. Years later, Arthur is a film star and Merlin is living in their hometown of Ealdor again. Arthur is rich and famous and everyone wants him. Merlin is broke, hated, and lonely. When Arthur returns to Ealdor to take a break between movie shoots, Merlin doesn’t really think Arthur remembers him. When Arthur sees Merlin again for the first time in nearly four years, everything changes for them.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: Pretty sure this has already been done before but I kind of wanted to write one like this. At the moment, this will only be a one-shot. Anyways, hope you like it and remember to review.   
> Colly

Merlin was moaning in pain as he walked home from the store he worked at. It had been a long day and all Merlin wanted to do was to go back to his tiny apartment and shower. Maybe a bath. His back was aching so bad all he wanted to do was cry. He really wished he’d been able to save up for a car last month. He hated the four mile walk from Perkins store to the apartment on the days that Morgana couldn’t pick him up. After an eight-hour day at the store, walking felt a lot like death. Luckily, he was almost home now and he could climb in the bath in just a few minutes. He didn’t have work for the next two days and so he’d at least be able to spend those days in bed. 

Merlin really wasn’t in any mental or physical shape to be working. His back had gotten messed up in a car accident three years ago and he wasn’t even supposed to be on it for more than an hour at a time. He had severe nerve damage in his lower back as well and there were some days that he went home and was numb from the waist down. Mentally...well, mentally he was even more fucked. Merlin had severe Agoraphobia and depression. Being in public made him feel like he was going to die. Literally. Every minute he was in public, his heart raced and he couldn’t speak properly. At night, he couldn’t sleep and didn’t have the energy to do much. He felt horrible most of the time and just shouldn’t be working an eight-hour job. But it wasn’t like he had any choice. Merlin had been denied government help and his mother and father were both dead. His depression had gotten pretty bad at times but he’d never wanted to kill himself before. He couldn’t go to that length. So, he worked. Eight hours a day. Five days a week. Sometimes six days a week depending on if he could get the hours.

It didn’t exactly help that his coworkers - and half the fucking town - hated him. He was the weird one. The oddball. He didn’t talk very well and he was always so quiet. They didn’t understand him and they made fun of him every chance they got. Just like everyone always had in this fucking town. Well, not everyone. There had been one person to be sort of kind to him. Arthur Pendragon had once been decent to him. And, when they’d gone off to the same college, Arthur had even dated him. The townspeople didn’t know that, though. They all thought he was the 26-year-old virgin who’d never had anyone love him, especially not their cherished Arthur. 

Arthur Pendragon, once just a wealthy boy from Ealdor, was now a movie star. Known world-wide, he was most loved in Ealdor. People talked about him everywhere. When one of his movies came out, they flocked to buy it. Everyone loved him and Merlin had never learned how to stop. How could he? They had been together for two and a half years in college. But Arthur had deserved more. He had real potential as an actor and he hadn’t needed Merlin dragging him down. And so, Merlin had broken up with him. Arthur hadn’t taken it well but eventually he’d stopped calling. And texting. And emailing. Merlin was sure Arthur had forgotten him already. Which was okay. Arthur would find someone better. Would Merlin ever love again? Probably not. But that didn’t matter. 

When he got home, he tossed his keys on the counter and went to sit on the couch a bit. His back was aching and his legs were completely numb and he just needed a rest before he went to run a bath. Flipping on the TV, he was not prepared to see Arthur’s face there. There was a news lady talking about how Arthur was coming back to Ealdor for a break between movie shoots. Merlin groaned. What on Earth was Merlin going to do when Arthur showed up? Hope he didn’t remember Merlin? Seeing Arthur would be beyond awkward and Merlin didn’t think he could stand it. But, of course Merlin would have to see him. Ealdor was a small town and Merlin was still Morgana’s best friend and she was Arthur’s sister.

His back still aching, Merlin turned the television off and stumbled into the bathroom. He couldn’t bend down and so he sat on the edge of the tub to run a long, hot bath. He’d been stocking shelves all day and had been forced to stock shelves for Nimueh on his lunch break because she’d wanted to go and talk to her boyfriend and smoke in her car. It had made him angrier than he’d ever been but, of course, he hadn’t done anything about it. He’d stocked her shelves and he’d missed lunch. It had made his back hurt worse than ever and all he really wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry at the moment. 

He sunk into the warm bath and closed his eyes, hoping the heat would do him some good. It wasn’t seeming to do any good, however, and Merlin realized that he was going to have to take one of his pain pills. He hated taking them because it made him feel like a pill popper but when the pain got this bad he had to take them. Slipping out of the bath, Merlin grabbed for the bottle of pills that he always kept on the bathroom counter. Downing two of them, he decided that maybe sleeping it off would be a good idea. Maybe when he woke up he’d feel better. 

When he woke up two hours later, it was to the sound of someone watching television on his couch. Morgana again, most likely. Though he didn’t have any other friends in this town, Morgana had always been his best friend. She was Arthur’s half-sister and was the only one who knew about the relationship they’d shared. Merlin had requested that she not tell him anything about Arthur and so she hadn’t even mentioned her brother’s name in years aside from small stories about how stupid he could be. 

Walking unsteadily into the living room, Merlin gave a thin smile to his best friend. Morgana smiled back at him and scooted over so he could sit next to her. Pushing him forward a bit, she rubbed his lower back muscles until they no longer felt like they were dying. Grinning gratefully at her, Merlin sat back and waited for her to say something.

“I know you said you didn’t want to talk about him but we need to mention the fact that my idiot brother is coming back to Ealdor tonight.” she said.

Merlin had been afraid of that. “Morgana...”

“Merlin, we need to talk about it because...well, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Arthur’s still in love with you. He never fell out of it, really. And he didn’t make the same request you did about not telling him about you so I do once in a while. He’s right pissed about how you’re being treated by people here.”

“Arthur still...loves me? But...I broke his heart.”

Morgana smiled in that way that told him she knew more than he did. “He understood why you did that, Merlin. He just wants you back. I’ve told him some of the things going on with you and he’s heartbroken that I haven’t done more to help you.”

“It’s not your responsibility to help me.” Merlin said.

Morgana rolled her eyes. “You’re my best friend, Merlin. It is most definitely my job to help you. Regardless, Arthur wants to see you tomorrow morning. He even said he’d meet you in private if it’s easier for you.”

“I... I don’t know...”

“Merlin, at least meet with him. He loves you. And I think you deserve to be happy, Merlin. You were so happy with him.”

“He deserves so much more, Morgana. He deserves to have someone who’s not...me.”

Morgana smiled at him, blue-green eyes filled with kindness. “Merlin, it isn’t about that. Arthur deserves what he wants, does he not?” 

Merlin couldn’t dispute that. “Well yes, he does. But... he wants the wrong thing ‘Gana.”

“I don’t think he does. The two of you have always been better together. He made you feel safe and you grounded him. He’s not the same without you, Merlin.” She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a light squeeze.

“What if he meets me and decides it’s not really me he loves?” Merlin said, admitting his biggest fear, the one thing that had kept him from trying to get Arthur back.

“Ah. So that’s what you’re afraid of.” Morgana smiled at Merlin again, her eyes twinkling. “Well, I can tell you that it’s something you don’t need to be afraid of, Merlin. Arthur loves you more than he’s ever loved anyone in the world. He’s not going to see you and suddenly not love you anymore.”

“What if he does, though?” Merlin’s voice was just above a whisper and he couldn’t look at his best friend.

Morgana smiled wider. “It won’t happen, Merlin. I promise. Arthur is in love with you. He has been since we were children and he always will be. Please Merlin. Meet with him. Gwaine and I will be there as well, though we’ll be sitting at a different table.”

Merlin thought about that and decided that he really didn’t have anything to lose. “All right then. I’ll meet with him tomorrow morning.”

“You won’t regret this. I promise you Merlin.”

Merlin nodded, looking thoughtfully at Morgana. They’d been friends since they were children and she truly did love him. She was his best friend aside from Gwaine. Lance and Gwen had gone off to college and they lived in London now. He’d visited them once, before the car accident that had ruined his life. 

Morgana and Gwaine had been married for a year now, though and they’d stayed close to him. Come over to help out when he really needed it, brought him to the hospital when he was hurting too bad to really even function. He was thankful to them for everything they’d done for him. 

“I’m gonna head home. Gwaine’ll be there soon and he’s bringing Thai home for dinner. I’ll come over tomorrow to drive you to the cafe where he wants to meet. Be up by seven.”

“All right.”

“I love you Merlin. Relax tonight. I’ve ordered a pizza for you for dinner so you don’t have to cook. Already paid for. All you have to do is sign.” She said, pecking his cheek as she stood.

“Thank you ‘Gana.”

“You are very, very welcome.”

She shut the door and Merlin leaned back against the couch. He was now both nervous and exhausted. He really did want to meet with Arthur tomorrow morning, of course he did. He loved him. But he was so nervous it wasn’t even really funny. It had been five years since he’d seen Arthur and he was afraid that Arthur would take one look at him and not want him anymore. This was his last chance with Arthur, his last chance to be happy. If he failed at this...well, the barrel of a gun would look pretty nice. 

Two hours later, after eating what Morgana would call a healthy bit of pizza, Merlin climbed into bed and fell asleep almost instantly. What seemed like minutes later, he was awoken by Morgana standing above his bed. He could hear Gwaine in the kitchen, hopefully making coffee. 

“I’m sorry I’m so slow this morning. My back hurts worse this morning.” Merlin said quietly to Morgana.

Morgana smiled. “It’s all right, Merlin. Gwaine is making coffee and he brought you a donut from that place you like.”

“Thank goodness.” Merlin muttered under his breath and Morgana smiled.

“You’ll be happy to know that Arthur’s a nervous wreck this morning. He was fretting over his hair when I left the house.” Morgana said, sounding amused at her brother’s antics.

Merlin smiled. “He hasn’t changed then. He did that before our first date as well. Took me an hour to convince him he looked fine.”

Morgana smiled. “He looks more than fine, the prat. He’s just nervous about seeing you again, I think.”

Merlin smiled. “I’m nervous too. Probably even more so because we’re meeting in public.”

Morgana faltered. “We can change the place if you’d like. I can bring him here.”

“It’s all right. I know he won’t let me feel unsafe. I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure, Merlin?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Then let’s get going. Arthur just texted me and he’s waiting for us. He’s also getting swamped by people and he’s starting to get annoyed.”

Merlin gave a small smile. It was a known fact - to those who knew him at least - that Arthur had always hated being surrounded by people. Now that he was famous, that was bound to get worse. Merlin knew that Arthur was probably sitting in that cafe ready to punch everyone in it at the moment. Which meant that Merlin probably needed to hurry before Arthur actually did punch someone. 

“You want coffee here or you gonna order something at the cafe?” Gwaine asked as they reached the kitchen.

“I’ll order something there. I still have a few bucks.” 

“Which you’ll not be using. You just let Arthur pay today. He’s already planning on it.” Morgana said, patting Merlin’s back.

“I can pay for myself.” Merlin complained, though he knew it was a futile argument.

“You won’t, though.” Morgana said, raising her eyebrows at him.

“Not if it means arguing with Arthur. I’ve always hated arguing with Arthur. Never ends well.”

“Exactly. Come on. Into the car with you.” Morgana said. 

Morgana and Gwaine drove him over to the Albion Cafe where he could already see which table Arthur was sitting at. It was the one with all the girls surrounding it. Arthur saw them enter the cafe and pulled himself out of the huddle of girls long enough to walk over to Merlin. Merlin could feel every eye in the room on them and it made his pulse race a bit. He focused on Arthur in front of him, blocking out everyone else. If he focused on Arthur, he could forget that there were other people in the room. At least, he hoped so.

Arthur was grinning at him wider than Merlin had ever seen before. The sight made Merlin smile a little. Behind him, Morgana and Gwaine patted their shoulders before going to sit at a table a few feet away from where Arthur had been sitting previously. Feeling every eye in the room upon them, Merlin followed Arthur over to the table. Arthur waited for him to sit down before he sat down himself. 

“It’s...uh...been a while.” Arthur said quietly, blushing. 

Merlin hadn’t seen that blush since their first date. 

“Five years to be exact.” Merlin said shyly, looking at the table.

“Look can we get right to the...oh for fucks sake!” Arthur was now glaring at a girl behind Merlin’s shoulder.

Merlin turned to look behind him and found Vivian, a girl that had been infatuated with Arthur since grade school, standing there. She was glaring at Merlin - not unlike the others crowded around her - and stopping every few seconds to send what she thought was a winning smile at Arthur. (Really, she just looked like she was going to be sick.)

“I am here with Merlin Emrys. If that is not your name leave this table! Good lord. I grew up here. You people know me. I expect to be treated normally when I come home. Not like some...celebrity.” Arthur sneered.

“But...why are you with him?” Morgause, a girl that had hated Merlin practically since birth asked. 

“Because I’m bloody in love with him you little twat. Now leave.”

Not wanting to risk angering him – or Morgana who had stood up and was glaring at the entire cafe – any further the crowd vanished. Merlin could hear them whispering among themselves, though, and sighed. If this didn’t turn out well, he’d never hear the end of it.

“So, we got straight to the point.” Merlin said quietly.

“I suppose we did. I’m in love with you Merlin. Have been since we were in college. Or, if Morgana is to be believed, I’ve been in love with you since we were eight years old. I...I...I...”

Merlin sighed. “If you’re about to apologize, don’t. This is my fault. I’m the one who broke up with you.”

“You did it for the right reasons, though.”

“Even so...I still broke your heart. You should hate me. I’m surprised you don’t.”

“In the beginning, I sort of did. But then, I talked to Morgana. And she told me about the car accident and the troubles you’d been having and I just...I realized that I was an idiot. I should have kept trying to get you to see reason.”

Merlin smiled gently. “I wouldn’t have, you know. It was only after things got bad that I realized how much I really do love you...and by then I figured it was too late.” 

Arthur looked astonished. “Too late? Merlin. You’re a bigger idiot than I originally thought you were. It was never too late.” 

Merlin looked down. “I didn’t know that. And, after the accident and my parents’ dying, the agoraphobia and stuff got worse and I couldn’t force myself to contact you.” 

“I should have called you. I shouldn’t have left you on your own like that. Morgana told me that you were having trouble but I…I didn’t know what to say to you.” 

“Morgana did what she could. Really, if it wasn’t for her and Gwaine, I wouldn’t be here right now. They’ve done a lot for me.”

Arthur smiled, reaching out to place his hand against Merlin’s cheek. “Do you want to go somewhere more private? I’m afraid I tire of idiot fangirls gawking at me.” 

Merlin rolled his eyes. “Is that your way of getting into my pants?” He asked.

“Prat. Let’s get out of here.”

“We can go to my place, I suppose.” 

“Good idea.”

They stood, Arthur wrapping an arm around Merlin’s waist as they exited the coffee shop. Arthur opened the passenger door for Merlin and then got in himself. Merlin gave him directions to his apartment and Arthur frowned when he saw the area Merlin lived in. It wasn’t the best neighborhood, truly, and Merlin lived on the top floor of the building. 

“I don’t think I’m going to leave you here.” Arthur said when they were in the safety of Merlin’s living room.

“What on earth do you mean by that?” 

“I’m taking you with me. You’re quitting that bloody job that you shouldn’t even have and you’re coming with me. I travel a lot, yes, but I’d rather have you with me than have you here where people treat you like shit.” Arthur said, pulling Merlin against him.

Merlin looked at him. “Morgana would certainly be pleased. She’s threatened to sue Perkins quite a few times in the last few years. Last month, she almost physically assaulted Nimueh.”

Arthur grinned. “Good. They’re lucky I don’t sue them. In all seriousness, though, you really should come with me. I won’t be traveling much for the next few years. I’ve got a film I’ll be shooting and it’s a bit of a big project. We’ll be able to stay at my house.” He smiled at Merlin. “You can spend your time working on writing that book you’ve been wanting to write.”

“It’s tempting.” Merlin said honestly.

“So, what’s holding you back?” 

“What if it isn’t me you love? What if you decide that I’m too much trouble?” Arthur made to speak but Merlin shook his head. “I’m not the same as before, Arthur. There are some days when my back hurts so bad that I can’t even get out of bed much less cook or clean. And I can’t often go into public alone without having a panic attack. What if you decide that all of that is too much work?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “You won’t be expected to cook or clean. I have a maid and a cook to do that for me. And I don’t care if you don’t go in public alone. If you want to be a bloody recluse I won’t care. People will be jealous of my gorgeous, mysterious boyfriend.” He forced Merlin to look at him and said, “I don’t care about any of that. I just want you. I want to come home at night and curl up around you in bed. I want to hear you call me a clot pole, to hear you complain about me putting too much sugar in my coffee. I love you Merlin Bloody Emrys and I want you to come home with me.”

“I’m pretty sure my middle name isn’t Bloody.” Merlin said, smiling at Arthur.

“I just poured my heart out to you and your response is to correct my use of Bloody? You are the strangest man I’ve ever met.” He grinned. “Which means that you have to come home with me. I collect strange things, you know.”

Merlin laughed. “Fine. I’ll come home with you. If only to stop you from continuing to attempt convincing me.” 

Arthur smiled and pressed their lips together. Kissing Arthur was still the best thing Merlin had ever experienced. Fireworks burst behind his eyes and he felt warm all over. When the kiss was over, Merlin couldn’t help but to smile. This was real. For the first time in five years, Merlin felt hope.


End file.
